Hold on to those tickets for this afternoon's fifth game of the 2004 American League Championship Series. The left-for-dead Red Sox are still breathing.

Down three games to none, and down 4-3 in the bottom of the ninth, the Sox last night rallied to tie the game against indomitable Yankee closer Mariano Rivera. They won it in the 12th inning at 1:22 this morning when Ortiz hit a Paul Quantrill 2-and-1 pitch into the Yankee bullpen to give the Red Sox a 6-4 Game 4 victory at Fenway Park. The game lasted 5 hours, 2 minutes, and many of those who stayed for the finish lingered even longer into the morning.

A lot of Bostonians will be sleepy and late for work today. No problem. New Englanders will be wide-eyed when Pedro Martinez gets the ball at 5:10 for the start of Game 5.

"Don't let us win tonight," Sox first baseman Kevin Millar had warned before Game 4. "This is a big game. They've got to win because if we win we've got Pedro coming back [today] and then Schilling will pitch Game 6 and then you can take that fraud stuff and put it to bed. Don't let the Sox win this game."

They did. This time it was the Yankees who coughed it up. ...

"Our mood was really good going into the game," said Francona. "It always is. This is the time of year when we can rest later. They can rest later."

No rest for New England. Game 5 later today.

Millar had a 12-year career, three of them with the Red Sox: 2003-05, .813 OPS in 432 games.

SoSHer Clemente38:Just to chime in on how much Millar loved Boston. Scott Rolen talked about how incessantly Millar talked about his love of Boston and playing in Boston when Millar and Rolen were both playing in Toronto. Rolen said Millar was always talking about Boston and the fans and not just when the Jays were playing the Sox.